Roulette is a popular casino game of chance, making its first appearance in the 17th century. French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal was on a mission to build a perpetual motion machine. Little did he know, the fruits of his labour would blossom into an entertaining casino game that made its way to every nook and cranny of the world within the next century. The game of roulette is not overly complicated, but the sheer number of bets is enough to overwhelm any casino player. If you’ve never had the chance to play roulette, let’s cover some of the basic roulette rules first.
Roulette is a popular casino game of chance, making its first appearance in the 17th century. French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal was on a mission to build a perpetual motion machine. Little did he know, the fruits of his labour would blossom into an entertaining casino game that made its way to every nook and cranny of the world within the next century. The game of roulette is not overly complicated, but the sheer number of bets is enough to overwhelm any casino player. If you’ve never had the chance to play roulette, let’s cover some of the basic roulette rules first.
What Are The Rules Of Roulette?
Whether you’re playing at a brick-and-mortar casino or at a Live Casino online, you’ll come across European roulette, American roulette and French roulette. European roulette is officially called ‘American roulette’ since it was first popularised in the United States. It’s confusing, we know, but it is the subsequent addition of the double-zero pocket by American casinos that prompted the three distinct roulette categories. In other words, when you see ‘European roulette’ — think ‘European wheel’. French roulette is played on the European wheel, the only difference being the inclusion of two additional rules and a slightly different table layout.
The Roulette Wheel
For the moment, let’s do away with the names and strip the game down to the fundamentals. Roulette is played with a large, spinning wheel that is filled with numbered pockets. There are two main variations of the wheel: single-zero roulette and double-zero roulette. The single-zero wheel (European roulette wheel) features 37 pockets, numbered 0-36, and the double-zero (American roulette wheel) has 38 pockets, 00 and 0-36. The additional zero directly impacts the house edge: single zero comes with a house advantage of 2.7%, and double zero clocks at 5.25%. The house edge is the amount the players loses, on average, relative to any bet made.
The zero (and double zero) is coloured green, 18 numbers are red, and the remaining 18 are black. Once wagers have been placed, the dealer spins a small ball on the wheel’s outer rim, which is always spun in the opposite direction of the ball. The ball gradually loses momentum and descends into one of the numbered pockets. The ball’s final location determines the winning number, and all players who have wagered on that number (or on a group of numbers that includes it) will be paid out based on the placed bet.
Roulette Bets
There are three types of bets in roulette:
- Inside Bets — Inside bets are more limiting, but the payouts are more rewarding.
- Outside Bets — These wagers cover more numbers and have a nearly 50% chance of winning, but the payouts are relatively low.
- Call Bets — Call bets offer betting options covering a series of numbers based on their placement on the roulette wheel.
Inside Bets
- Straight Up Bet — A bet on a single number.
- Split Bet — A bet on two numbers,
- Street Bet — A wager on a row of three numbers, horizontally or vertically.
- Corner Bet — A wager on four adjacent numbers, the chips are placed on the intersection of the four numbers.
- Sixline Bet (Line Bet) — Placing a bet on two adjacent rows of three numbers, covering a total of six numbers.
Outside Bets
- Column Bet — Placing a wager on one of the three columns, covering 12 numbers in that column.
- Dozen Bet — Wagering on either the first, second or third set of a dozen numbers. Players may place bets on the boxes marked ‘1st 12’, ‘2nd 12’ or ‘3rd 12’.
- Red or Black — Placing a wager on all red or black numbers, covering 18 numbers each.
- Even or Odd — Wagering on either all of the even or odd numbers.
- 1-18 or 19-36 (Low/High) — Placing a wager on either the first (Low bet) or second (High bet) 18 numbers.
Red/Black, Even/Odd and 1-18/19-36 are even-money bets, meaning that they will pay 1:1 on a win. The odds of winnings are close to 50%, but always just below. This is because the ‘0’, or ‘00’, will always offset the odds in favour of the house. Since these wagers are more likely to hit, many roulette strategies and betting systems heavily rely on Outside bets. Should you wish to inject strategy into your gameplay, make sure that you have a solid grasp of this golden trio works.
Call Bets
Call bets get their name from having to individually call out these special wagers in a land-based casino; however, the online roulette table layout includes a handy racetrack on the betting table, where players can conveniently place their Call bets.
- Tiers du Cylindre — Tiers is a six-chip game where one chip is placed on the 5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30 and 33-36 splits, each. All splits pay 17:1.
- Voisins du Zero — Voisins is a nine-chip game covering 17 numbers in the 22-25 sector. Two chips are placed on 0-2-3(11:1), two chips on 25-29 corner (8:1) and one chip each is placed on the 4-7, 12-15, 18-21, 19-22 and 32-36 splits (17:1)
- Orphelins à Cheval — Betting on a set of eight numbers outside of Tiers and Voisins, 1-9 and 17-6.
- Jeu Zero — Betting on ‘0’ and the numbers nearest to it: 12-35-3-26-0-32-15.
- Neighbours — A wager on any five-number combination covering a number of your choice and two neighbours on each side.
Other Roulette Bets
You may also come across the following advanced wagers:
- Finales en Plein — This Call bet places chips straight up on numbers that end with the same digit. For example, a Finale 6 en Plein will cover 6-16-26-36.
- Finale a Cheval — Similarly to the above, this bet wagers on numbers that end in two different digits, wagering straight up and on splits.
- Complete Bet — A Complete bet covers all possible Inside bets on a specific number.
Roulette Gameplay
The game’s objective is straightforward — players must predict and wager on the numbered pocket that they think might win. At the start of the round, players place their wagers directly on the table. The betting window will be timed on a Live Casino roulette table, so pay attention to how quickly the rounds unfold. Players can bet on one number or a group of numbers, such as High or Low and Odd or Even.
The ball is then launched along the wheel’s outer rim; as it loses momentum, the ball lands in one of the numbered pockets. Winning bets are all wagers covering that number, the payouts will vary depending on the odds of the bet placed. Losing bets are collected by the house.
Be mindful of the table layout and any peculiarities of your roulette game, such as the 00 pocket and any additional rules of roulette. This is particularly important if you’re playing at an online casino, where the variety of games surpasses that of any brick-and-mortar casino. French roulette, for example, has two additional rules that will impact your gameplay.
La Partage Rule
La Partage applies only to even-money wagers. If a player makes a qualifying bet and the ball lands on ‘0’, the player receives half of their wager back. The other half of the wager is lost.
En Prison Rule
Similarly to the above, En Prison only applies to even-money wagers. If the spin’s outcome is ‘0’, the player’s bet is imprisoned and will only be returned if the next spin results in a win. No additional win is paid, the player will simply receive the wager back. Some tables will keep imprisonment in play if the next spin also results in ‘0’.
Play Live Roulette
The best way to enjoy roulette is by trying it out online! Playing Live Casino games comes with many benefits, rewarding bonuses and diverse gameplay among them. At LV BET, players can play roulette and other incredible casino games from the world’s leading providers, like Evolution and LiveG24.
Live and online roulette offers the same fantastic gameplay together with innovative features and bonus payouts. Evolution’s Lightning Roulette, for example, includes a random Lightning Multiplier which can affect up to five numbers. This multiplier can reach 500x! If the lightning-struck number wins, then players who wagered on that number (straight up) will enjoy a bonus payout corresponding to the multiplier. Playing roulette games online has other advantages, such as the nearly unlimited seating around the wheel and Live Chat support.
Get Ready To Play Online Roulette
The most important things to keep in mind are bankroll management and responsible gaming. Establish your budget, stick to it and place bets that are manageable. Don’t forget that roulette is a game of chance; thus, winning can never be guaranteed. There are many strategies and betting systems that you can use to impact your gameplay, but no strategy will promise wins. In fact, many strategies are based on progression systems which never pan out in the long run.
Play Roulette For Free
Before you get started and place a bet with real money, why not try roulette for free? At LV BET, you can test your knowledge of roulette rules through free-to-play demos at our Casino. These games are played against an RNG (Random Number Generator) algorithm but are a great way to practice without staking real cash. Demo access may be restricted in certain jurisdictions, and you may have to register an account first.